User:Healym24/1883 Texas State Convention of Colored Men

= 1883 Texas State Convention of Colored Men = This convention took place in the city of Austin, Texas from July 10th to July 12th, 1883. As one of at least ten similar events that took place in the state of Texas and one of the many across the nation following the Civil War and through the period of Reconstruction this convention sought to organize African Americans into a unified block that would be better equipped to win equal treatment under the law than an unorganized mass.

Overview
While the conventions sought to get equal rights for African Americans they did not seek full integration of society, rather they requested that if they are to be separate they should at least be equal.

The convention was organized in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which was declared unconstitutional.

Other topics covered included temperance, land ownership, miscegenation law, free schools, treatment of convicts, widows' and orphans' homes, mechanical association, and general racial discrimination in daily life.

Governor's Intervention
Governor John Ireland attended and spoke to the convention, criticizing them for not staying entirely non-political as well as their dismay with Judge Turner's decision on the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and the treatment of African Americans on railroad cars although he was cordial in complimenting the success of their school's. Minister Abraham Grant defended the convention and refuted Governor Ireland's claim they had become political as well as reiterated the unacceptable treatment of African Americans with respect to railroads.

Address To The People of Texas
The convention proceedings finished off with an address directed to the people of Texas. In the address they explain the position of the African American community in the United States and what problems they encounter in their lives. The address attempts to explain clearly what exactly the African American community would like done and why they feel they are deserving of equal treatment. The address acknowledges that attempting to fully integrate society would not be beneficial. In recognition of this premise they feel just in demanding that if they are to be separate they must at least be equal in their accommodations.

Convention Leadership
The chair of this convention was Minister Abraham Grant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Grant was born a slave on the Florida plantation of Franklin Raulerson and was sent to Georgia with his brother where the two of them became free men. The African Methodist Episcopal Church by 1883 had already established a reputation of organizing African Americans to fight for their civil rights.

Women at the Convention
There is no mention of women in attendance at this convention. However, the topics covered did include ones impacting women of color, particularly miscegenation laws and widows' and orphans' homes.